Adjustable strapless slip



April 1938. R. M. MARSHALL 2,113,795

ADJUSTABLE STRAPLES S SLIP Filed Feb. 17, 1957 INVENTOR ROBERT M- MARSHAL L dg w ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My present invention relates to strapless undergarment constructions, and more particularly to a strapless slip whose position on the wearer may be adjusted.

In the past many attempts have been made to construct strapless slip garments for women; these past constructions have not met with commercial favor. Prior constructions have failed to observe the requirement that a slip is a garment as individual as other pieces of dress; a strapless slip must be capable of use with any other type of undergarment a woman may be wearing at a given time, and should not be restricted in usage to a specific brassiere by mechanical construction. Again, a strapless slip should be constructed so that the bust section of the slip can be correctly located with respect to the wearers bust, and such construction must not involve complex devices.

Accordingly, it can be stated that it is one of the main objects of my invention to provide a strapless slip constructed in such a manner that the slip is permitted to hang from the shoulder straps of any undergarment, as a brassiere, positioned beneath the slip.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a slip with support clasps, or strap-grippers, in place of the usual shoulder straps or ribbons; and the clasps being adapted to be secured to the shoulder straps of a brassiere in an adjustable manner.

Other important objects of the invention are to improve generally the simplicity and wearing efiiciency of slips, and more particularly to provide a strapless slip which is not only economically manufactured and assembled, but is readily and easily used by the wearer.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims; the invention itself as to both its organization and mode of operation will best be understood by reference to the following explanation, taken in connection with the drawing, in which I have indicated one construction whereby my invention may be carried into effect.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a strapless slip embodying my invention, and in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a front view of one of the support clasps of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals in the different figures designate similar elements, the novel slip construc tion comprises generally a bosom, or bust, section I, a waist section 2, and a skirt portion 3; the material between the sections 2 and 3 is omitted to preserve simplicity of the drawing. The slip material may be of any desired type; the design thereof may be, of course, complex or simple. Assuming that the bust section l is of the type which is cut out at the armpits and neck (although the even edge type of slip may be employed), then four spaced support sections 4 are provided. To each of these support sections 4 is secured a loop 5; the free ends of the loop material being securely alfixed to the inner faces adjacent the top edges of the sections 4. A strap gripper 6 is secured to each tie loop 5; and each gripper 6 is provided with three spaced bars, or prongs, I. The outer prongs are provided with slots adapted to receive the loop material; the inner prong is provided with small teeth to positively grip the shoulder strap of whatever garment happens to be worn underneath the slip.

Assuming the woman is wearing a brassiere 8, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the shoulder straps 9 thereof are shown gripped between the bars I of each member 6. As is well known in the art, the brassiere is provided with band H! which encircles the wearer's trunk; each brassiere strap 9 is secured between a breast cupping section of 30 the brassiere and the band l0. Considering now the constructional details of the support elements of the slip, attention is directed to Figs. 2 and 3 which show a typical support element. Since all the support members of the strapless slip are similar in construction, it is only necessary to describe one of them in detail. The tie loop 5 may be an elastic, tape or other desired material. Preferably, it is made of an elastic fabric, the free ends being sewn to the inner face of a slip section 4 adjacent the top edge 4' of the latter.

Each clasp, or gripper, 6 is substantially E- shaped; the middle bar H is provided with a pair of opposed lines of teeth. While only two teeth are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, it is to be clearly understood that the number and size of the teeth will depend on the nature of the shoulder strap material to be gripped by the teeth. As shown in Fig. 3, the teeth l2 project at a right angle to the bar I I; further, they face away from the wearer's body. The outer bars l3 and M are provided with slits I3 and M, respectively. The bars M, H, l3 are integral with the vertical bar 6; the slots l3 and. M are substantially rectangular in configuration. The spacing between the bars l3,

H and Hi permits the shoulder strap 9 to be easily interlaced with the bars.

The support clasps 6 may be stamped from celluloid, metal or hard rubber. In general, they should be made of a non-corrosive material. They can be faced in any appealing ornamentation, color, design; they can be enamelled, for example. While Fig. 3 is magnified to show the clasp details, it will be understood that in actual practice the bars of a clasp will be sufficiently thin to impart resiliency thereto. The purpose of having opposed slots on each clasp is to limit stamping operations to one die. Rear clasps are provided by using the slots opposed to those being used on the front clasps; the teeth always facing outwardly from the body. In fact, any positioning of the clasps is rendered possible by virtue of the double slot construction. If only one slot were used, two sets of dies would be needed for front and rear, or left and right, clasps.

In actual usage, and assuming the woman wears a brassiere or other undergarment with shoulder straps, it is only necessary to slip the shoulder straps into interlaced position on the four clasps 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The clasps may be shifted along the straps 9 until the bust section I of the slip is correctly positioned relative to the womans bosom. Again, the independence of the clasps makes it possible to secure relative adjustment between the different clasps. The teeth l2 will firmly grip the straps 9, and prevent the slip from sliding. There is, of course, no slip strap to bother with; the slip hangs easily and correctly from the shoulder straps of the garment beneath it.

While I have indicated and described one construction for carrying my invention into effect,

it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that my invention is by no means limited to the particular construction shown and described, but that many modifications may be made without departing from the scope of my invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an undergarment construction, such as a slip, a fabric body having a shape adapted to conform to that of the wearers body, said fabric body being provided with a plurality of spaced supporting elements secured to the top portion thereof, each supporting element being constructed and arranged adjustably to grip the support strap of a garment, such as a brassiere, positioned beneath the slip, each supporting element comprising at least two spaced gripping bars arranged in substantial parallelism, a pair of adjacent ends of said bars being joined to provide a stop bar and the opposite pair of ends being free, means for securing each of said elements to said top portion in such a manner that the said free ends of the gripping bars of each supporting element is adapted to be slid laterally into contact with a support strap between the points of attachment of the strap whereby the strap is grip ed between the bars.

2. In an undergarment construction as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said supporting elements consists of three spaced bars arranged in the form of the letter E whereby a gripped strap is interlaced with the parallel bars.

3. In an undergarment construction as defined in claim 1, said securing means comprising a loop secured to the slip top edge, and one of the bars of each supporting element being provided with an aperture to receive its respective loop.

ROBERT M. MARSHALL. 

